Who’s chasing DeChambeau? What are expectations for Tiger? Looking ahead to Friday at the Masters

From the most valuable perspective, the Wells Fargo Championship begins the surge toward the FedExCup Playoffs. That perspective is playing time. Beginning this week and extending through the Wyndham Championship on the first weekend of August, 10 of the 13 remaining non-majors are open events. The two of the 10 that don’t reserve space for maximum fields of 156 are additional events that will host 132. In other words, for almost all PGA TOUR members with fully exempt status, and even for many with conditional status or worse, they can count on a full schedule the rest of the way. Of course, it won’t be easy, especially at Quail Hollow Club. In its post-major debut for the rank and file last year, it was the toughest par 71 in a non-major in all of 2-17-18. For more on the stern test, how Jason Day scaled to victory and other nuggets, scroll past the ranking. Among other notables, Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider will include Henrik Stenson, J.B. Holmes, Jason Kokrak and 2018 co-runners-up Aaron Wise and Nick Watney. Even as a par 72 since the inaugural edition of the Wells Fargo Championship in 2003, Quail Hollow challenged fiercely, so when Tom Fazio set it up to play as a par 71 for the 2017 PGA Championship, it came as no surprise that it established all kinds of new standards in difficulty in recent decades. After Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, North Carolina, pinch-hit as host of the 2017 WFC, Quail Hollow returned to the standard PGA TOUR lineup last year. The field averaged 1.132 strokes over par, the most on the track since 2007 (+1.280). Because it can stretch to 7,554 yards, the ability to move it off the tee will define the champion. At least in part. Quail Hollow is an equal-opportunity experience. Even though Day ranked ninth in distance of all drives a year ago with an average of 316.3 yards, almost 15 yards longer than the field average, he split fewer than half of his fairways and averaged just 10.25 greens in regulation per round to rank T69. The Aussie also finished a distant 59th in proximity to the hole on the 6,578-square-foot targets. Instead, true to his vintage, Day excelled with his short game. With only four whiffs inside 10 feet, he ranked second in conversion percentage in that range, strokes gained: putting and scrambling. Customary for winners who don’t stand over many par breakers with a putter but still capitalize, Day led the field in putts per GIR and co-led in putting: birdies-or-better. Overseeded primary rough allowed to extend to two-and-a-half inches in places won’t dissuade decisions to swing drivers. As Day proved, finding the shortest grass isn’t a prerequisite. In fact, of the 12 who finished inside the top 10 on last year’s leaderboard, eight ranked outside the top 30 in driving accuracy. Still, there’s nowhere to hide at Quail Hollow and there should be zero expectation to slingshot into the lead on the final three holes known as The Green Mile. Collectively, this par 4-3-4 finish averaged 0.864 strokes over par last year. That was one-fifth of a stroke lower than how it played for the PGA Championship a year prior. Each hole of The Green Mile ranked inside the top 50 of all holes all season on the PGA TOUR. Fittingly, Day set a new mark for winners of the tournament. Not only did he go 3-under on the trio for the week – lowest of any champion – he also went bogey-free. With inclement weather forecast, it’s possible that the Champion bermudagrass greens won’t touch the intended 12 feet on the Stimpmeter, but anything is possible in this part of the country at this time of year. Daytime highs will eclipse 80 degrees and the wind might kick up a bit, but it won’t play a role often in club selection. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Fantasy Insider WEDNESDAY: One & Done THURSDAY: Champions One & Done * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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AVONDALE, La. — Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele are a good team even when they’re playing for cash and not just a flag. Cantlay holed a 25-foot eagle putt early and chipped in from 40 feet for birdie late, while Schauffele contributed six birdies of his own, and their three straight birdies to close gave them a 13-under 59 in fourballs Thursday to lead the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It set a tournament record since the Zurich Classic switched to team play in 2017, and the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup partners were willing to claim a piece of golf’s magic number. “I haven’t done it before. I don’t think Pat has, either. I’ll count it in my book,” Schauffele said. They had a one-shot lead over the team of Matthew NeSmith and Taylor Moore. The group at 61 included Robert Garrigus and Tommy Gainey, and Aaron Rai and David Lipsky. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Ryan Palmer were five shots behind at 64. The second round moves to foursomes, and while alternate shot is the more difficult of the format, Cantlay and Schauffele have put together a 4-0 mark in their partnerships at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne and he 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits. “It’s just the first quarter. We’re only one ahead,” Cantlay said. “But we are going into a format on Friday that we really like — I think Xander and I really like alternate shot. It’s one of our strengths for the week, and we’re really looking forward to it.” Moore was lucky to have much strength at all. He was in the emergency room Wednesday morning from food poisoning, got some fluids and nausea medicine and finally was able to keep some food down Thursday morning. “Just tried to finish every hole,” Moore said. “That was kind of a win within its own right.” Lipsky avoided the hospital, though he was involved in a car accident earlier in the week. Turns out there was a car in front of him that had broken down, and as Lipsky went to change lanes he said the driver behind him slammed on the brakes and hit him. “I’m all right. I think the other two drivers were fine,” Lipsky said. “Yeah, I was a little bit of a hectic beginning to the week.” Cantlay and Schauffele — who have gone on vacations together when they weren’t representing their country in the cups — were extremely effective on the greens. Only three of their 11 sub-par holes were from putts inside 10 feet. “We played really well, made a lot of putts today on a day that was a little tricky with the wind and didn’t birdie a lot of the same holes,” Cantlay said. “When you do that in this format, that’s really the key.” Equally impressive was the father-son duo of Jay and Bill Haas. The 68-year-old father had four of their seven birdies, three of them from the 15-foot range, in their 65.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – The first question posed to Zach Johnson after his second round Friday at the Masters focused on his warm-up swing that accidentally knocked his ball off its tee at the 13th hole, sending it a few feet away – and, of course, becoming a viral sensation once the highlight hit social media. “Shoot, they got that?â€� Johnson replied. Yes, Zach. It’s a new deal this week. Every shot of every player at the Masters … even when it’s not officially a shot. “It’s going to be quite funny, because we can actually have a look at the highlights and view it,â€� said Ian Poulter, one of Johnson’s two playing partners along with Matt Kuchar. “Have you guys seen it? On the re‑run? Love it. Can’t wait.â€� The incident didn’t cost Johnson a stroke, since his swing was not intended to hit the ball. But the USGA made sure to clarify the ruling, tweeting out “since he had no intention of striking the ball, he has not made a stroke. On the teeing area, there is no penalty and the player simply re-tees because the ball is not yet in play.â€� After re-teeing his ball (and after a few choice words directed at himself), Johnson found the fairway with his real drive and eventually birdied the par-5 hole en route to a 1-over 73 that left him at 3 over through 36 holes. The incident did cost Johnson plenty of embarrassment, as well as a few chuckles from his competitors, who were more shocked at first to see it happen – especially at Augusta National, which takes its golf very serious. Poulter and Kuchar tried not to react at first, but Johnson told them, “It’s OK, you can laugh.â€� Said Poulter: “We were trying to hold it in, but … we had to let it out. It was great.â€� Kevin Kisner, who finished in the group ahead of Johnson on Friday, was asked if he had ever hit a ball on a practice swing for his tee shot. “No,” he replied, before adding. “Maybe when I was drinking.” Even Johnson couldn’t avoid having a bit of fun at his own expense. His play-by-play of the incident? “Toe push into the tee marker and then, you know, it was a nice little 4-foot draw.â€� Said Johnson: “I thought I had done it all but now I know I’ve done it all. … This is the first time I’ve done it.  … My head wasn’t even looking down, so it was one of those where I just wasn’t paying attention to what was going on.â€� Poulter said he’s done it before. “We’ve all done it,â€� he added. But Johnson doesn’t figure he’ll hear the end of it anytime soon, especially with his good friend Kuchar as a prime witness. “He doesn’t let me forget many things,â€� Johnson said. “But, hey, you get what you deserve.â€�

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